This paper explores the role and place of Parliamentary privileges in the Canadian constitutional system, notably with respect to their relationship to other parts of the Constitution, and attempts to clarify the status of parliamentary privilege under the Constitution of Canada, having regard to the provisions of the Constitution and decisions of the Canadian Supreme Court.

This article explains the current interpretation of the U.S. version of parliamentary privilege – the Speech or Debate Clause in the U.S. Constitution – as set forth by Supreme Court decisions. It analyses the Speech or Debate Clause using textual, historical, and ethical constitutional interpretive methods and proposes a new test for applying the Speech or Debate Clause that will narrow the scope of the privilege.

This article describes the origin and nature of Parliamentary privilege in the United Kingdom.

This article analyses the privilege provisions applying to Australia’s national parliament and compares it to international standards. Particularly, the article also analyses whether the curtailment of traditional provisions has weakened the Parliament’s position.